A double barf kinda day...

Boy its official I am 24 years old (celebrated last week) and this year has started out with a bang. A few days before my birthday I had several procedures done that added up to an out patient surgery. Recovering from that was a wonderful way to spend my birthday... but it was super productive. Because I have endometriosis I had a laparoscopic procedure to reduce the amount of endometirial lining outside of my uterus and find the active endometiral spots. They were able to achieve both and hopefully it wont be a problem any longer. I also had a D & C and a hysteroscopy done both being extremely successful. They did find an extremely large ovarian cyst that they immediately cut into, drained, and biopsied. So now with everything cleaned out and in tip top condition hopefully we will have some luck.
Which brings me to the barf. It really is a lovely way to start the day, morning sickness. But before you get too excited it wasn't me throwing up it was Henry, our great dane pup. I rolled over to hear him dry heaving i lifted the blanket up off his cage just in time for the money shot. ALL OVER! I think we may have the barfiest dogs on the planet! So i got up and cleaned up everything. What a way to start the day.
Soon after I called my gyn office to let them know I started my period (totally excited Pat and I abstained this month because of the surgery) which is GREAT news because I started naturally with no help from hormones. This is the first time I have started by myself since 2008! Here is where the second barf comes into play. I was talking to our nurse who is really great and knowledgeable about the whole process and she was telling me about the new medications I am going to be taking. They are way more aggressive than the clomid I had been taking previously both in strength and in price! When she told me the estimated cost of these medications I nearly had a heart attack! However I got off the phone and you guessed it BARF! I have such a nervous stomach and thinking about spending thousands of dollars really gets things moving for me! I did call my wonderful husband who assured me we would be ok. That we are totally able to do this and its something we really both want and are willing to sacrifice for.
So this month on day three we will be starting femara and then later in the week we will be starting a series of follistem injections and then we will be going for an estrogen lab test around day 11. If it comes back with good levels we will have an ultrasound around day 14 and then a novarel injection and then IUI.
I am super hopeful about this month. I have been listening for God very intently for the last few weeks hoping to hear some kind of direction for me and my family. The amazing thing is I feel I have heard him. Its truly amazing when you are looking for God all the places you can hear and feel the presence of his word. I feel so blessed to have been woken up! And I really feel like positive changes are in order for our family!
So despite the barf morning I feel like today is going to be a beautiful day!
God Bless,
Cassie R.

Ode to my husband!

I think that so many times when a couple is struggling with infertility the woman is often the one prayed for or thought of. There are tons of resources for women struggling with infertility, but not a lot for men. So many times the husbands are forgotten. They are going through this too! My husband has been amazingly supportive, he's really been wonderful through this whole process until the other night....

One of the most disgusting things ever happened in my household. It was ALL my fault and I take FULL responsibility! Pat had every reason to be angry and now I want to publicly apologize for this awful thing. Honey I'm SORRY!

So now that your all intrigued I'll try and tell the story. This week (starting last Thursday) could be a fertile time for me. I am not taking hormones this month, but because I was on them for so long and my cycle was regular while taking them I could ovulate and have a regular cycle this month, maybe. So I bought an over the counter OPK (ovulation predictor kit). For this test you pee onto the stick, similar to a home pregnancy test. Well I HATE pee. Through this whole thing i have peed into more cups and onto more sticks than one should ever have to! And through it I've learned its far more accurate and easier if you pee into a cup and dip the stick into it. SO, I keep a cup in the bathroom for this week. I use it once a day rinse it out really well and then I put it on the floor behind the toilet.My husband has never even seen this cup before. He never even knew it was there. I was very discrete. Until now...

My husbands parents came to town this weekend and as usual I went nuts cleaning the house the day before they came. So when I was scrubbing the floors on my hands and knees I accidentally placed my pee cup onto the counter next to Pat's sink and I guess i forgot to put it back.... Unknowingly that night he filled it up and drank out of it. That's right he drank out of my pee cup. EWWWW! BAHAHAHAHAH! I didn't realize it until the next evening when I went to use it to take my test and I couldn't find it. I walked into our bedroom and saw it on his nightstand. The fit that he threw was completely warranted. Honey I am so sorry you have been amazing through this entire process and I'm pretty sure you've gotten little support from every one. I love you and you are going to make an amazing father one day! I cant wait to see you with our children! I love you!

Cassie

p.s. im really sorry to tell everyone, but it's REALLY funny!